Shouldn’t Every Day be Thanksgiving?

As expected, the sermons this weekend were on gratitude, sprinkled with funny anecdotes about kids saying blessings, burnt birds and bittersweet memories. Some call these days the Holidays from Hell, and yes, sometimes they can be. Think of girlfriends meeting the-parents-of-the-object-of-desire for the first time, or a young bride making her first
Thanksgiving feast for the extended family, or those who are suddenly alone and sometimes lost due to sickness and/or death. No pressure here, buck up sweetie, and be cheerful and thankful, or else! And let’s not forget the 400 football games on all day – which to watch, when? We really need one of those big split screen TVs! In like what Christmas has become; Thanksgiving puts us on the never-ending hamster wheel of obnoxious, over-achieving, forced festivity.

Unfortunately, it is still true that until a new president is installed in the WH, preferably one with a D after the name, only the downsides are newsworthy, and that holds true in every subject. Every subject. My elderly family members are convinced that everything, everywhere, is going to hell, and they are fretful and terrified. They think everyone is out of work, the economy is in a recession, the war in Iraq is lost and there are no real terrorist threats – that’s just made-up stuff. They’re sure America is dying. They are sure the world is headed for famine. They are depressed and do not want to send out Christmas cards, because how can you do that when so much is bad in the world?

If you ask them to look around and wonder how people are buying tiny houses in Queens for a million dollars – while everyone is working, their neighbors are expanding their homes, new businesses are being constructed – if you point out that the the stores and restaurants are crowded – if you ask them how it is that France and Germany have elected America-friendly leaders who are making it a point to work with the unanimously hated President Bush…it does not compute; everything is bad. “All I know,” they say, “is what I hear, and it sounds like the world is going to come to an end soon, because how can it keep going? There is going to be a depression and nuclear war! The oceans are going to cover the whole coast! Everything is going to be lost! Little children are being allowed to get sick and die! Here! In America!” And of course, “everything about Iraq is bad. There is nothing good.”

All they know, you see, is what they hear.

The table this year will be fraught with frightened elders – who trusted the media for years to bring them the truth – believing the end is near.

Along the same vein, Fausta notes that as more and more scientists stand against the Global Warming Hooey Scam of All Time, the collusive press turns up the heat (no pun intended!). Still not enough mindless lemmings in the believer’s queue? Let’s scare them even more!

Also at Fausta, in the latest Carnival of Latin America are many instances of the same dark shadow. Even there people fight against oppression and genocide. But you’ll never hear about it in the media. But at least they reported that another world leader told Chavez to SHUT UP. Maybe this little bug is reaching his expiration date.

It’s sooo easy to be distracted by tin cup dic-tators and all the world’s woes. That’s what the business of scare-mongering is all about. The press has lost it’s way when it’s only function is to serve as a mouthpiece for power-hungry politicos and blood-thirsty dogmas determined to overthrow America. No wonder our seniors are so worried…they faced down Hitler with a steel-spined resolve bolstered by their faith that fighting evil was the right thing to do; not only for the good of America, but for the good of the world. Freedom has always had a price.

A story from last night’s sermon illustrates perfectly the entitlement mindset that Democrats and liberals have hoodwinked many into believing, and thus hang their election hopes on.

A neighbor (say her name is Mary) sees her other neighbor (say her name is Nancy) and decides to make her a pie. She bakes a lovely pie the next day and takes it next door. Nancy is overwhelmed that her neighbor would be so thoughtful and thanks her profusely. The next week, Mary makes her another pie. When she takes it over, Nancy thanks her again, but with less enthusiasm. The next week, Mary makes her another pie. When she takes it over, Nancy just says “Thanks.” The next week, Mary makes her another pie. When she takes it over, Nancy says, “Thanks, and you’re a day late this time.” The next week, Mary makes her another pie. When she takes it over, Nancy says “Thanks, but next time, can you make a cherry pie instead of apple? I’m getting tired of apple.” The next week, Mary makes her another pie. When she takes it over, Nancy says “You know, if you put a little less sugar in the crust and didn’t handle it so long, the crust wouldn’t be tough.” The next week, Mary has lots to do and forgets to make her pie. When she walked by Nancy’s house, she stuck her head out the door and yelled, “Hey! Where’s my pie?”

How quickly gratitude turns into a jaded sense of entitlement.

Ok, what’s the point of this rant? Thanksgiving is one of our only truly American traditions. Sure, some people call it “the hateful, racist, you-stole-our-country holiday”, because after all the First Amendment protects everyone’s axe and their right to grind it. And sure, the holiday has been bent and twisted to suit marketeers and cooking shows. I can really do without the mini-bundt cakes with festive fall nosegays at each place setting that tie into the theme of….

Why don’t we go back to the original idea? Simple people, pioneers really, expressing their pure and heartfelt gratitude for not starving to death over the harsh winter, not being killed by hostiles (regardless of their native inhabitant status – remember other European countries coveted this land and were willing to kill in God’s name to take it) or mysterious disease, and sharing what food they had with those that would share it with them. A humble heartfelt thanksgiving. Not a holiday, but a state of mind.

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10 Comments

dr said,

I was once a member of the liberal press grinding out horror stories for the MSM. Needless to say, for years I believed my own bs….But now all that is in my rear-view mirror. Becoming conservative has certainly improved not only my constant sense of impending disaster, but also my overall sense of gratefulness of all things grand and small.